In years prior to 2019, December 1 would often mark the start of a wind down period.
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Things would slow down and the year would slowly trudge its way to an end.
Not any more.
Over the past few years December in Australia has been marred by drought, fires, floods and a pandemic (not to mention the panic of what to buy your mum for Christmas).
This year, unfortunately, is much the same.
NSW is experiencing a surge in COVID cases - largely attributed to the Omicron variant.
A NSW man who travelled to Tasmania yesterday (the day the state's border opened) has since tested positive for COVID and is now in home quarantine.
The man visited the Newcastle night club at the centre of the recent outbreak, but tested negative before making the flight to Tassie.
Victoria also reported more than 1600 new COVID-19 cases, as the state slightly eased restrictions despite stubborn infection numbers and the emergence of Omicron.
People across Australia who are double vaccinated are being urged to get their booster shot to protect themselves against the virus.
Kirby Institute director Anthony Kelleher said people with higher levels of neutralising antibodies that come from booster vaccinations were less likely to catch the virus and less likely to develop serious symptoms.
"This is still very early days in our understanding of Omicron ... we need to be careful about making all efforts to reduce the rate of transmission and that includes people taking up the offer that has been made of booster vaccinations," Professor Kelleher said.
But it's not just COVID making headlines, weather forecasts are also looking a bit grim.
The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted heavy storms, fire conditions and a heatwave across most of the country.
In fact, certain parts of WA are expected to reach 49 degrees!
Despite all of that, it's Tasmania that's captured most of our thoughts today after four children sadly lost their lives in a jumping castle incident.
The tragic event occurred at a primary school in Devonport, Tasmania after the jumping castle was thrown about 10 metres into the air by a gust of wind.
What was supposed to be an end of year celebration, turned into a tragedy.
It's a reminder to hold your loved ones extra close as this year nears its end.
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